Lock nut



H. J. ZOTTEL.

LOCK NUT.

APPLICATION FILED APR-25.1919.

, 1,426,530, Patented Aug. 2-2, 1922.

entree stares ears HERMAN J. ZOTTEL, or MILWAUKE WISCONSIN.

LOCK NUT. I

Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, State of V1 isconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Look Nuts, of

which'the annexed is a complete, concise,

and clear specification, reference being taken to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification.

My present inventionis an improvement upon the nut lockpatented by me Decemher 19th 1916, the patent number of which is 1,209,302.

The object of this invention is to provide means indicatingto the user of my lock nut when same is properly, locked.

In the nut lock covered by the above patent, as well as in all other known types of nut locking means, reliance is placed solely upon the judgment of the mechanic applying the same, as to what constitutes the proper tension for securely locking the nut in place.

This frequently leaves the lock nut insecurely locked, while in other cases it may be turned beyond the proper tension, thereby doing damage to the bolt threads.

Another object of this improvement is to facilitate the manufacture of my lock nut. To obtain the required resiliency in the locking prongs it is necessary to shear the metal, clear through for the entire length of the prongs. The metal will not break until the punch has cut through about two thirds its thickness. Therefore when producing the device covered by the above patent, it was found necessary to shear the metal beyond the proper depth in order to separate the prongs from the solid plate their entire length to render them sufficiently resilient and later force them back to the desired shape. One of the objects of the present improvement is to so shape the prongs that the shearing operation in itself produces the desired shape, whereby a subsequent forming of the prongs is eliminated, and yet shearing them free from the plate their entire length.

The particular method by which the above objects are obtained will be more specifically described with reference to the annexed drawing, of which Fig. 1 is a top view of the lock nut; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof 5 and Fig. 3 shows the application I Specification of -Letters Patent. Pafignted A g, 22 1922 Application filed April 25, 1919. Serial No. 292,569.

of the lock nut when in the (locked position. l m' Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, character 6 shows the flat plate of :the lock nut,- which may assume the outer contour shown, or any other suitable shape. Characters 7 and 8 show three .prongs or wings formed by shearing the. plate at characters 7 severing a portion ofthe. material of the plate by suitable arcuate cuts and abruptly bending the prongs at characters 8 to the desired form. "Character 9 shows the threaded ibolt opening.

It will be observed from Fig. 2 of the drawing, that the prongs are formedtopresent a slight incline to the'plane of the plate,

which is more clearly shown by the two broken lines and the angle X. It willfbe noted that the prongs are sheared so the free ends thereof, characters 7, are, depressed the greater extent, while the attached ends thereof, characters 8, are depressed a lesser extent.

Before the lock nut is tightened into locking position, the screw. thread therein is normal, that is, the lock nut can be freely moved upon the thread of the bolt. the appearance of the lock nut is as illus trated by Fig. .2, with the prongs at the angle X to the plane of the plate If the lock nut is now tightened into locking position with a wrench, the free ends of the prongs, characters 7, are forced back until the attached ends thereof, characters 8, contact with the face of theprimary nut;

The angle X is of such magnitude, that the lock nut is properly and securely locked And face of the primary nut, and as these portions are not resilient or movable with respect to the solid plate of the lock nut, a substantial stop against further turning is effected.

This removes all uncertainty on the part of mechanics and users, and the operation of applying the lock nuts is performed with imaterially increased dispatch.

It will therefore be apparent that the features of this improvement are of material value, both in the manufacture of the lock nuts and in their application.

YVhile the drawing shows my lock nut used in connection with a primary nut, it will be evident that the primary nut may be dispensed With. The lock nut then serves for holding as well as locking pur poses. This applies particularly to the smaller sizes.

Variations'in the details and construction of my lock nut are readily effected by those skilled in the art, but these will be considered as within the scope of this application. l Jhat I claim as new and my invention, is more specifically covered by the following claims:

1. A lock nut comprising a plate with a threaded bolt hole and locking pawls integral therewith, the locking pawls being formed by cutting from the plate a portion of'the material adjacent the bolt hole and sharply depressing the same at the attached end thereof so that the free end of the locking pawls is rendered readily compressible while the attached end thereof is 6011113511 31", tively incompressible.

2. A lock nut comprising a plate with a threaded bolt hole and locking pawls integral therewith, the locking pawls beingformed by cutting from the plate a portion of the material adjacent the bolt hole,

sharply offsetting the same at the attached end thereof and depressing the free end to agreater depth than the attached end.

ln witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 22nd day of April A. D. 1919.

HERMAN J. ZOTTEL; Witnesses WALTER H. HUMMEL, MARTHA C. REIGH. 

